21 January 2010

Meatloaf might just be my favorite comfort food. It's warm, easy to make, easy to eat, and great for leftovers. Heck, I hosted a party once with a make-your-own sandwich bar, and the unexpected meatloaf was a big hit. (That was my dad's idea. Thanks Dad!)

I always serve meatloaf with mashed potatoes. It's just better that way. By the way, if you pick up ingredients to make this meatloaf, buy extra potatoes...the potato-and-egg recipe I have coming tomorrow is definitely one you'll want to try.

As usual, this recipe is a combination of two I have previously tried. One of those recipes comes from Martha Stewart, and the other from my dad. These two people, in fact, provide a lot of the inspiration for me when I cook...and in other areas of my life, as well. :)

Turkey and Vegetable Meatloaf
1-2 lbs ground turkey
*I usually use one package of Honeysuckle White ground turkey, which is 20 ozs has just been downsized to 19.2 ozs.
**If you want a dense, meaty meatloaf, use 2 lbs.
***Of course, you can make this with ground beef or your preferred meatloaf mixture, but it won't be as healthy. Just don't try to do half turkey/half beef. It doesn't work well.
1 medium yellow onion, peeled and cut into eighths
2 cloves garlic, peeled
2 stalks celery, cut into 2-inch pieces
2 carrots, cut into 2-inch pieces
1 cup oats (quick or regular) If you need this to be gluten-free, be sure you use gluten-free oats. Not all are processed gluten-free.
1/4 cup milk
1 large egg
1 cup ketchup, divided
3 teaspoons good deli (like Plochman's) or Dijon mustard, divided
1 teaspoon coarse salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons brown sugar

Place onion, garlic, celery, and carrots into a food processor. (Do this in two batches, if needed, placing half of each ingredient in each batch.)

Pulse until everything is finely chopped, almost like a chunky puree.

Place ground turkey in a large bowl.

Add vegetable mixture, oats and milk to the bowl.

Mix ingredients thoroughly with clean hands, until just combined. Do not overmix.

2
comments:

Marisa's brother was born on October 31; he was our little pumpkin until he became the house monster.

He thought that people just naturally dressed in costumes and paraded around the neighborhood in his honor--it was his birthday, after all.

When he was 8 or 9, he had a 'big kid' party on Halloween--dinner, cake, and all. Mom made a terrific cake and stored it in the cold oven. I made a carefully crafted meatloaf (see Risa's recipe) in the shape of a corpse, with olive eyes and corn teeth. These were boys, so it was anatomically correct.

Preheating the oven, we bustled around to ready the feast. Uh-oh. I snatched open the oven door to find that the heat had beautifully flowed the icing into a smooth, glossy coat. The meatloaf was a spectacular success, even with the scuffle over the 'parts,' and I got away with the heated cake. If she had pre-candled it, I would have been toast.

Meatloaf has a wonderful tradition for us; the veggie puree version looks to be yummy, too!

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